Healing Priests: How are you leveling?

[derevka]

So, we're a little over a week away.

This is mainly focused at the healing priest, as we usually have a tough time questing alone... when compared to our DPS brethren.

Currently I'm Disc (to meditation) and then as deep as holy as I can go. I'm a healer, tried and true.

I'm a little stymied when it comes to how I'm going to level.

These are my main options, I think...
1. Stay healing, and instance (quest as holy) mainly to level. (75% Instancing/25% questing)
2. Spec Shadow and respec only when I need to heal an instance. (meaning ill do 75% questing/25% instance)
3. Spec shadow and stay shadow and mainly quest solo (though healers could be tough to find) (meaning ill do 75% questing/25% instance)

[Rewoz]

Why not do as everyone else and roll a Death Knight?

All the cool kids are doing it.

[Thalas]

Or go full Disc? You are able to quest well, might need 5 points in spirit tap though! You can easily heal 5 man pugs with decent gear?

[phaffo]

My plan was to go shadow to at least 78 just to burn through levels as fast as possible. If the xp comes in as fast inside instance as it does out, (doubtful) I'll go disc and get there that way.

[Qualia]

Why not do as everyone else and roll a Death Knight?

All the cool kids are doing it.

It's not fun rerolling what about 75% players are going to reroll. No feeling of uniqueness =p

To the OP, I would say it depends on your situation:
- If you have a group of 4 other friends or more, 1 tank 3 whatever that can level together 90% of the time - stay healing and mainly leveling by doing instances. This probally the fastest if your group is hardcore and good enough.
- If you have experience with questing in beta and want to level asap but you can't find such a group, stay shadow and solo.
- If your case aren't 1 of these 2 above, shadow to quest and switch to holy when you need to heal.

Well, if you and your group are geared enough, you can probally just stay shadow to heal =)
For me, I will just shadow and questing. Maybe do some instances on the way if there are quests for them. Doing instance for gear/rep will be done after I reach 80.

[lsfreak]

Option 4: Go into Meditation in Disc and then go full into Shadow until 79/80. Very fast leveling, and you should be able to DPS or heal fine in any instances provided you've got a decent tank and one CC. Unless they changed something drastic from pre-BC and TBC, you shouldn't have any problems healing as shadow + meditation until you get into the true level 80 stuff and heroics.

[mutantboy]

Option 5: hybrid healer/smiter - my build is 31/27/3

I specced it and did a bunch of daily quests fine, ran Kara fine, was able to grind mobs my own level fine.

My gear is not spectacular: 1200 dam/1000dam + 200 haste/1000dam + 450regen (its' pretty much badge/ZA + a few Hyjal bits) but not awful. I spent some time grinding mobs doing netherwing quests and I would expect that will be the level of quests in the start area.

Kara was easy, Heroic Bots a little harder but I struggled big time on Heroic BM and ZA speed runs. I feel safe thinking that leveling will not be too big a deal

[Hotchocolate]

skill shadow, healing 5mans should be np and you can always throw up a vt+mb for replieshment, so you are a healer with the benefits of a shadow, cant get any better if u ask me

[Worshaka]

I think there are 2 ways to do it...

1. Solo your way to 80, spec shadow, nuke everything you can and do the occasional 5 man when possible

2. Rely on 5mans or group questing, spec disc/holy (whatever your prefrence is) and live with the fact you can't solo as well as you could shadow spec, but as you're gonna group more than solo it doesn't really matter.

I'm sure some people will spec shadow and heal while shadow spec which you can do without too many problems but if you're expecting to get groups easily (coz you're lvl with guildies/friends or you pug a lot) just take the spec that makes life easy imo.

[Lostprophet]

U will be lvling as fast as a smiter
(http://talent.mmo-champion.com/?prie...00000000000000)
or Sp.

Healing as a shadow should be easy aswell ( u got similar amount on +healing) and if u run oom, just use dispersion


Fact is, u dont need to respecc for Instances.

I also heard that u wont get alot XP in instances since theyre really short in LK, so i do only instance once and only then when i have quests.

mfg

[Hotchocolate]

I also heard that u wont get alot XP in instances since theyre really short in LK, so i do only instance once and only then when i have quests.

bullshit, what does the size of an instance have to do with the xp you get?
The point is running instances over and over again to grind xp... there is no difference if you run a small instance 20 times or a large instance 10 times

[dehlak]

Rested you get 8 - 10K experience per boss, and few normal mobs give 4K experience (rested).. and most between 2000 and 3000.. (rested).. only tried it rested on beta, so I don't know the actual numbers

[artan]

Rested you get 8 - 10K experience per boss, and few normal mobs give 4K experience (rested).. and most between 2000 and 3000.. (rested).. only tried it rested on beta, so I don't know the actual numbers

Xp was raised durring beta to promote faster leveling , you wont see the same numbers in Live.

[Izenhart]

Quested as Disc with Spirit tap, is impossible to go OOM, and solokilling is kinda sweet with Holy Fire buffed and Smite spam.

[Kelesti]

Quested as Disc with Spirit tap, is impossible to go OOM, and solokilling is kinda sweet with Holy Fire buffed and Smite spam.

Levelled 20-70 from instancing, don't see much a reason to stop now. :P

[Lostprophet]

bullshit, what does the size of an instance have to do with the xp you get?
The point is running instances over and over again to grind xp... there is no difference if you run a small instance 20 times or a large instance 10 times

Meh, u will lvl faster if u do Quest...this is proven

U will get far more XP in the time being in a instance then doing some Quest's.

And u have to find a group unless ure going into with your friends.

Instance lvling is faster if nordern is overcrowded or have massive Lags outside :>

[Anglarana]

I am a shd priest, so sorry for invading your "holy" thread :P

What i did when i leveled from 60 (holy priest back then) to level 70 was go with a smite / holy fire build. They work very nice as well. The only downside i had was that I could not join a group as dps, so when i dinged 65 / 66 i respecced to shadow and stayed that ever since :P.

So, what I am saying is; It is your personal choice and what would you like to do yourself? would you like to go quest solo more or actually be a part of dungeons as well. And if you want to experience dungeons, as a healer or as a DPS?

If you can answer those questions for yourself the choice can be easily made:

Healing in dungeons: go holy / disc
Solo grinding: depends if you prefer shd or smite build
Dps in dungeons: go shadow.

This is the smite build i would use now (level 70)
http://talent.mmo-champion.com/?prie...00000000000000

At level 80 that build would look like this:
http://talent.mmo-champion.com/?prie...00000000000000

[vigilpriest]

I'll be going disc.
http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=bVsbzhxtRxoifRt0x at 70
http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=bVsbzhxtRxoifRt0xZh at 73
http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=bVsbzhxtRxoifRt0xZh at 79

Level 80 build doesn't matter since I won't be leveling at that point.

[cptrugged]

Leveled my priest Holy 16-70 98% Instance runs. I'll do the same thing again. I play a priest to heal other folks and despise soloing. Good thing is, if things go like they did at BC launch, most of the healers will spec shadow to more easily quest. PLUS the huge numbers of DKs will be rolling out. They'll all be in northred within the first week. So I personally think there is going to be an over abundance of tanks and a bit of a healer shortage. And instances will be lag free and the most accesible thing to do launch day while everyone else fights over those 3 boar spawns. Healer LFG Utgarde Keep!

[Coupage]

Cpt, you just convinced me, going to try that myself
I agree, with ya...northrend is going to need healers bad.
Utgard bound!